(Cricket news) India defeated England to win the first ODI by 10 wickets. It was a stellar performance by the Indian side, especially the bowlers. It was a really good toss for India to win as Rohit Sharma elected to bowl first due to the presence of a little grass on the pitch and a cloud cover in the sky. Virat Kohli was ruled out of the match due to a groin discomfort but he is expected to be back for the next match at Lords. As expected India went with 3 seamers, 1 spinner and 2 all-rounders.
It was absolute carnage by the Indian seamers as England were bowled out for 110 in 25.2 overs. Jason Roy, Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Liam Livingston were all dismissed for a duck while Jos Buttler with 30 off 32 balls was the highest run scorer. Jasprit Bumrah was unplayable as he picked up 6/19 in 7.2 overs. Mohammed Shami was also brilliant as he picked up 3 wickets while Prasidh Krishna chipped in with 1 scalp. Indian seamers exploited the conditions really well as they kept hitting the right length. As soon as Shami and Bumrah saw swing on offer, they pulled their lengths back and the conditions did the rest. Rishabh Pant had an excellent day behind the stumps as he took 3 excellent catches.
With the target of just 111, India's legendary opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma chased it down in 18.4 overs. England bowlers couldn't get much out of the wicket. Rohit Sharma scored 76 off 58 balls hitting 7 fours and 5 sixes. He played the classic Rohit way hitting pull shots of short balls. The innings will be a big positive for Rohit and for the team as well. Shikhar Dhawan played second fiddle, scoring 31 off 54 balls to lead India to victory. Dhawan played a few gorgeous shots including his signature cover drive. The two openers looked in great rhythm despite the fact that they were playing an ODI match after a long time. The two teams will now travel across London to prepare for the 2nd ODI at Lords where England will have a lot of things to answer while India will be looking to wrap up the series.
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